CIA Director David Petraeus resigned Friday after admitting to an extramarital affair -- an affair with his biographer that was revealed over the course of an FBI investigation, Fox News has learned.

The FBI had been investigating an unrelated and much broader case before stumbling on the affair. Fox News has learned that during the course of this investigation, the name of journalist and Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell came up. The FBI followed that lead and in doing so, uncovered his affair with her. The FBI for some time was concerned that perhaps Petraeus was some sort of victim, but there has been no evidence discovered to back up such concerns.

93. People like this think they are immune.

They never consider the unintended consequences.
I feel that we have a perverted society. A situation like this should not affect anyone outside of the immediate families.
He and she had a lapse of values and they will suffer for the short moments they appreciated one another...

7. So the problem isn't so much the affair....

but the fact that it might have caused him to get a case of loose lips. Presumably the FBI fully investigated Ms. Broadwell to ensure that she did not pose any threat to national security but the CIA director shouldn't be putting them in that position in the first place.

77. It's an exploitable liability.

I don't think that counterintelligence types particularly care about the legality or morality of a subject's behavior, it is whether or not they are doing something that can be used against them. Who knows what this guy would do (or did) to protect his secret; he was in a position to give it all away, and he did not disclose, so he's off the island.

As far as limited hangouts go, this one is certainly weak, but it is one made to stick. The General was acting secretively, the reports made sure to mention that he tripped the sniffers for communicating secretively, and therefore from the limited information we've been given, it is plain to see that whether or not he was exploited, the Director of the CIA certainly put himself in a position where he could be exploited. So his reasons for leaving are (probably quite deliberately) easily explained.

However, since I don't work for anyone and I can freely guess my ignorant ass off, I'll say this: You know who has it coming more than most in the wake of this election? Benjamin Netanyahu.

Maybe, just maybe, the President just stepped on Benjiy's best bug.

(Edit: In the interests of humor, I direct your attention to another post by me below, in which I suggest that the General is the Bush's best boy. They could both be true, they could neither be true; the point is that I don't know and neither will anyone else for a long time.)

11. Wow is that standard

air travel accommodations? Wood detail, leather captains chairs all around, I wonder if the bagheads would complain about the cost of travel and amenities on that plane for Petraeus like they complained about the President on Air Force One.

15. That is standard for a 4 star General running a war/occupation

14. Petraeus' biographer Paula Broadwell under FBI investigation over access to his email

The biographer for resigning CIA Director David Petraeus is under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday.

59. In retrospect, it certainly is!

18. Just having an affair isn't enough to cause a resignation like this.

There has to be more too it.
If the woman had been interviewing him intimately ... very intimately ... it's possible that he revealed some classified information to her.
The revelation may have had consequences too.

Just speculation but she could have been interviewing important people for future books and inadvertently asked a question that revealed classified info to someone who shouldn't have it.

69. Adultery is against military code in some cases

Since Petraeus was a general, I believe his would be a case in which they would consider a violation. I don't know if there would be legal repercussions for him because I don't know the timeline of the affair, and because he is no longer in the military. But it is probably a big enough deal for him to want to leave the public spotlight.

140. Well, it seems to be getting into possible treason territory now.

So whether or not the affair itself was enough to make him quit, this particular case is growing to be a huge scandal possibly about top secret information being revealed to the public by his mistress.

She gave a speech to some students about the Libyan embassy attack that was on youtube and said the embassy was holding Libyan prisoners and the attack was to free them. She said Petaes knew this. The youtube video was taken down and the CIA denies it completely.

The FBI also raided her house and left with several boxes of material.

54. Sounds like she already DID

108. Really, jail? I think resignation is enough.

Unless there is concrete proof he said something to her that warrants jail time. No qualms with having someone resign because there may be a risk, but I'm not too big on the idea of sending someone to jail just 'cause they may have said something they shouldn't have.

33. he

is only human. She is quite nice looking. No one can judge him until they get out their glass house. We have all been, at one time or another, indiscreet. He is still a 4 star general in the army and I respect the work it took to get there. I hope it doesn't destroy his family.

63. Then why is the FBI investigating? n/t

43. Exactly... this is more than "indiscreet".

And not all of us have been indiscreet at one time or another. But beyond that, BlueStreak is exactly right - this guy was the head of the CIA and damned well should have known better than to let a 'biographer' get anywhere near his email etc. It's not our place to judge the actions of consenting adults, that's between themselves and their spouses, but it becomes a totally different matter when the security of our country comes into play. What a dumbass.

49. Agree......It's not about a "loose dick" but about CIA gone loose to compromising situation. n/t

89. ooohhhh!

all of you uber patriots are so right. He couldn't have had a moment of weakness that escalated into an affair. Oh I'm sorry I mentioned weakness in the presence of uber males who NEVER have been weak in any situation. If we have another war we need supermen like you at the front line, although I would want the general as leader. : Please don't bore with false outrage over a man who was indiscreet.

123. True to a point.

But men tend to cheat far more often than women. You would have to think really hard for a woman in an equally prominent position as Petraeus who would risk it all for an affair. Can you imagine an Angela Merkel, Hillary or Pelosi in that predicament? I doubt it. On the other hand, the list of public men who have had their careers destroyed, or almost destroyed, by an affair is very long.

130. I'm sick of hearing this slander against men.

There is absolutely no evidence that men cheat more than women, because no evidence is possible. Surveys asking people, "do you cheat?" cannot possibly expect honesty from responders, and reports about divorces, etc are about what happens in courts, not bedrooms. This is the one circumstance where the truth may never be known because everyone has a motive to keep the truth hidden.

As for women in power, I could easily say that women are only attracted to men with more power and prestige than themselves, which makes their romantic potential go down as their status goes up: the very opposite of what happens to men.

But I'm not saying that. Because it would be rude. Like repeating the unsubstantiated meme that "men cheat more."

138. You're right.

145. Those surveys are great for measuring the differences each gender

puts on honestly discussing such issues.

I can't find it now but some study asked heterosexual men and women how many sexual partners they'd had and got wildly different answers depending on if it was asked in person, or anonymously over the internet.

Generally speaking the common-knowledge assumption that women will lie and say they have fewer while men lie and say the opposite held up if there was any chance of being personally judged.

/and if you think about it the average numbers of sexual partners for men and women have to be the same among heterosexual couples. Mathematically it's impossible for straight men to sleep around more than straight women. The distribution may be different, but the mean can't be.

87. Agreed, I think its easy to say, "I would never do that".

I'm not saying it was right, but the harsh truth is that most men will never have that much "temptation" to deal with. The guy was spending a lot of time with a younger woman, who is intelligent, attractive, and hanging on his every word. I think a lot of men would fail that "test".

As a result, I'm reluctant to judge him any more harshly than I judged Bill Clinton over Monica. In both cases, they hurt people around them, jeopardized their reputations, and clearly they should have known better.

105. And it was her Bday yesterday when this story broke out

106. Apparently Mrs Broadwell THREATENED another female acquaintance to Petraeus in an e-mail that

triggered the investigation and lead to her She sounds like a piece of work.A married woman with a boyfriend on the side with two boys wonder how they will look at there mom when they grow up. Wonder who the other woman was that she threatened.

111. I really feel bad for their families tho. I dont care how many things they had in common

112. What he did was wrong but the level of temptation here must have been crazy.

As others above have already pointed out she is also a military woman, she's VERY attractive and the 2 of them were working closely. Being a biography he would have had to have shared personal details with her. Factor in the age difference (older man with attractive younger woman) and what may have been a stale marriage on his end and maybe on her's too (I'm just speculating here) and you have a perfect storm. Given these circumstances I think MOST men would find it very very tempting if such a women made advances towards them. I'm not excusing what he did but I can certainly understand it. I also understand his reason for resigning in this case too though, an affair leaves you open to blackmail. Seducing men in power to get information from them has got to be one of the oldest espionage tactics in the books.

114. Another women with unsurpassed access

￼
Linda Robinson, author and national security issues expert, shared insights from her newest book, "Tell Me How This Ends," which explores the world of Gen. David Petraeus as he searches for a successful resolution to the Iraq War. Robinson, who has over two decades of experience covering wars and insurgencies, gained unsurpassed access to Petraeus, to classified briefings, and to his intimates while writing the book. A book signing in the AAFES bookstore immediately followed the event.

View Linda Robinson's OpEd piece in the New York Times,
"The Little Battles We Must Win."

116. Lol. This whole thing raises an interesting hypothetical question for me. Would women make better...

Would women make potentially better leaders in highly sensitive rolls such as this? I guess it's sexist to think that women are any less immune to seduction than men but I can't help but feel that it's true to some degree.

Edit: I guess since it takes 2 to tango, as they say, it's about the same.

121. I always thought he needed a haircut

He's the typical "cookie cutter" general that the Army ranks are over-stocked with today. I do not include LTG Mike Flynn in that equation. I'm an old, ex-Soldier now, but I would follow that man to hell and back any time.

142. Think of David's wife

I feel bad for Petraeus' wife, but still for his age, he stayed in shape which is more than one can say for her. Despite the difficulties of her being alone while he was on deployment, the woman let herself go completely. I totally understand how he failed to resist the other woman's advances...